1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of bed systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of adjustable air mattresses for beds. In particular, the present invention relates to the field of automatic and passively pressurized air massager cushioning devices or the like. Particularly, the present invention relates to a method of forming and sealing air structures used in seating devices, sleeping devices, massage and therapeutic devices, etc. In particular, the present invention relates to an air and sonic massaging apparatus for providing entertainment and a massaging effect with greater displacement on the body part of the individual positioned on the apparatus when patterned inflation and deflation of the apparatus occurs. Particularly, the present invention relates to a two layer improved air support apparatus with reduced complexity and cost utilizing preformed air structures. In particular, the present invention relates to an interactive media chair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Air bed systems are well known in the art. Many of the prior art air bed systems include an air mattress and a box spring. The prior art air mattress construction have problems which can cause discomfort and disruption to the sleeping process. One of the prior art mattresses is a conventional air mattress which comprises simply a flexible enclosure filled with air. When depressed, the enclosure depresses slightly in the vicinity of the loading and also increases pressure in the remaining volume of the enclosure. The response is both resistive and bouncy, which are undesirable characteristics as far as the comfort of the user is concerned.
The following ten (10) prior art patents are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:    1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,776 issued to Solen on Apr. 29, 1996 for “Variable Tension Fluid Mattress” (hereafter the “Solen Patent”);    2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,236 issued to Graebe on Jan. 25, 1977 for “Expandable Multicelled Cushioning Structure” (hereafter the “Graebe Patent”);    3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,061 issued to Clark on Oct. 17, 1978 for “Pneumatic Mattress With Valved Cylinders Of Variable Diameter” (hereafter the “Clark Patent”);    4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,615 issued to Whitney on Jun. 19, 1984 for “Air Pad With Integral Securement Straps” (hereafter the “Whitney Patent”);    5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,253 issued to Williams on Dec. 16, 1986 for “Seat Occupant-Activated Underseat Support Air-Cushion” (hereafter the “Williams Patent”);    6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,767 issued to Carr et al. on Dec. 30, 1986 for “Air Flotation Mattress” (hereafter the “Carr Patent”);    7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,546 issued to Cvetkovic on May 9, 1989 for “Fluid Mattress” (hereafter the “Cvetkovic Patent”);    8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,352 issued to Stumpf on Jan. 23, 1990 for “Mattress Or Cushion Spring Array” (hereafter the “Stumpf Patent”);    9. U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,431 issued to Hargest et al. on Nov. 6, 1990 for “Fluidized Bed With Modular Fluidizable Portion” (hereafter the “Hargest Patent”); and    10. U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,552 issued to Viesturs on Mar. 24, 1992 for “Inflatable Air Mattress With Straps To Attach It To A Conventional Mattress” (hereafter the “Viesturs Patent”).
The Solen Patent discloses a variable tension fluid mattress. It comprises a fluid chamber defined by an upper wall and a bottom wall which form a base. The fluid chamber can be compartmentalized by a longitudinal divider and cross dividers to provide individual zones of the fluid chamber. A plurality of pressure expandable pads are clamped to the upper wall by a disc which is secured to a hollow stem which communicates with the fluid chamber. A restraining chain is mounted within each pad and merely serves to limit the upward expansion of the pad regardless of the internal pressure.
The Graebe Patent discloses an expandable multicelled cushioning structure. It comprises a common base and a plurality of cells which are attached to the base, and are initially in a configuration so that the cells when formed are spaced apart but when later expanded by a pressurized fluid, will contact or be closely spaced to one another at their sidewalls.
The Clark Patent discloses a pneumatic mattress with valved cylinders of variable diameter. It comprises a plurality of valved cylinder cells held by a cover in a side-by-side relationship. Each cell comprises upper and lower cylindrical sections of equal diameter interconnected by a corrugated cylindrical section which has a smaller diameter. Each lower cylindrical section has an orifice which connects the interior of the cell with an air plenum that extends along the entire underside of the mattress. Each orifice registers with a valve that projects from the inner surface of the plenum opposite the cell orifice and is supported by a small, collapsible section of the cell in a normally open position, so that when a load is applied to the top of the cell it automatically closes the orifice against the registering valve.
The Whitney Patent discloses an air pad with integral securement straps. It comprises an upper layer and a lower layer which are joined together at a heat seal extending around the entire periphery of the pad. The pad is filled with air, water, a gel or the like. Securement straps are provided on the pad and fitted around and under the corners of a standard bed mattress to hold the pad in position on the mattress.
The Williams Patent discloses a seat occupant-activated underseat support air-cushion. It comprises a support base and an airtight expandable air cushion which rests on the support base. The top of the air-cushion is pressed upward against the bottom side of the vehicle seat cushion. A bellows type air pump is disposed within the air cushion and provides an outside air-intake.
The Carr Patent discloses an air flotation mattress. It comprises a lower inflatable chamber with a series of side-by-side air supply channels and an air-pervious upper wall. An inflatable compartment is overlaid on the chamber and forms a secondary air-pervious wall. A fan assembly is operatively coupled with the lower inflatable chamber to supply pressurized air.
The Cvetkovic Patent discloses a fluid mattress. It comprises side frames, a bottom support, and flexible and contractible bellows distributed over the bottom support. Connecting tubings are connected from the bellows to adjacent bellows to permit fluid flow therebetween. A top cover is extended over the bellows. Coil springs are mounted on top of the bellows to support the top cover.
The Stumpf Patent discloses a mattress or cushion spring array. It comprises a plurality of spring units. Each spring unit has a body, a top deformable end, and a bottom deformable end, where the ends are free for axial compression. The spring units are interconnected together by connecting fins which extend from the body of each spring unit.
The Hargest Patent discloses a fluidized bed with a modular fluidizable portion. A plurality of fluidizable cells are disposed and attached atop of an air permeable support. Each cell contains a discrete mass of fluidizable material which can be manually detachable and removable from the support for ease of cleaning and replacement.
The Viesturs Patent discloses an inflatable air mattress with straps to attach it to a conventional mattress. It comprises an upper air impervious flexible layer and a lower air impervious flexible layer. The peripheries of the first and second layers are joined together in an air impervious sealed relationship.
None of these prior art patents teach an air spring bedding system, resting or therapeutic structure to provide a matrix surface that is both supportive and pliable with minimal surface tension. It is desirable to have a very efficient and also very effective design and construction of an air spring bedding system for providing comfort and tranquillity to a user during his or her sleep by two different air support structures to create a matrix surface that is both supportive and pliable with minimal surface tension.
The following two (2) prior art patents were further found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:    1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,195 issued to Schulman on Aug. 1, 1989 for “Fluid Pressurized Cushion” (hereafter the “Schulman Patent”); and    2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,236 issued to Purdy et al on Oct. 28, 1997 for “Cushioning Mattress For Reducing Shear And Friction” (hereafter the “Purdy Patent”).
The Schulman Patent discloses a fluid pressurized cushion. It comprises a hollow air filled body support cushion which is formed from three interfitting matrices. Each matrix has a set of hollow cells, wherein the cells of each matrix are spaced apart to accommodate between them cells of each of the other matrices to define a body support surface made up of the tops of all of the cells. Each matrix has separate fluid ducts between its cells. A fluid pressurizing and control means such as air pumps is used to inflate and deflate the matrices in sequence to shift body support from one set of cells to another for promoting blood circulation and enhancing comfort.
The Purdy Patent discloses a cushioning mattress for reducing shear and friction. It comprises a top surface, a bottom surface, and a series of alternating tunnel billow compartments and loop billow compartments. Each of the tunnel billows comprises a separate piece of material affixed to the top or bottom surface along two parallel seams to define a wide-based closed billow or cell. Each of the loop billows comprises a separate piece of material affixed to the top or bottom surface along a single seam to define a narrow-based closed billow or cell.
It is further desirable to provide an air massager cushioning device or the like, which provides a matrix surface that is both supportive and pliable with minimal surface tension. It is also further desirable to provide an air massager cushioning device or the like that not only support a weight of an individual who sits or rests on the cushioning device but also provides a massaging effect on the body part of the individual positioned on the air massager cushioning device.
It is still further desirable to provide a method of forming and sealing an air structure having a plurality of air glands and a plurality of air ducts, where the air glands form a matrix surface that is both supportive and pliable with minimal surface tension and can be used with many applications, such as seating devices, sleeping devices, massage and therapeutic devices, etc.
It is again further desirable to provide a method of forming and sealing an air structure having a plurality of opposing air nodes and a plurality of air channels, where the opposing air nodes form an upper matrix surface and a lower matrix surface that are both supportive and pliable with minimal surface tension and can be used in many applications, such as seating devices, sleeping devices, massage and therapeutic devices, etc.
The following eight (8) prior art patents were further found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:    1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,376 issued to Yamada on Dec. 20, 1977 for “Sound Reproduction System And Device” (hereafter “the '376 Yamada Patent”);    2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,067 issued to Yamada et al. on Oct. 12, 1982 for “Audio-Band Electromechanical Vibration Converter” (hereafter “the '067 Yamada Patent”);    3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,379 issued to Komatsu on Mar. 19, 1985 for “Method And System For Discriminating Human Voice Signal” (hereafter “the '379 Komatsu Patent”);    4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,208 issued to Yamada et al. on Jun. 7, 1988 for “Audio-Band Electromechanical Vibration Converter” (hereafter “the '208 Yamada Patent”);    5. U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,710 issued to Komatsu on Aug. 15, 1995 for “Body-Felt Sound Unit And Vibration Transmitting Method Therefor” (hereafter “the '710 Komatsu Patent”);    6. U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,984 issued to Stuart et al. on Jul. 16, 1996 for “Voice Coil Actuator” (hereafter the “Stuart Patent”);    7. U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,260 issued to Komatsu on Dec. 31, 1991 for “Sensible Body Vibration” (hereafter “the '260 Komatsu Patent”); and    8. U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,500 issued to Cutler on Sep. 14, 1999 for “Audio Responsive Massage System” (hereafter the “Cutler Patent”).
The '376 Yamada Patent discloses a sound reproduction system and device built into a furniture piece such as a chair. A transducer is vibrated by a sound signal of appropriate frequency. The vibrating shaft of the transducer is directly fitted to the framework of the chair. The sound signal is provided to an acoustic device including a speaker located near the chair.
The '067 Yamada Patent discloses an audio-band electromechanical vibration converter. The converter includes a yoke having a magnetic pole and a magnetic gap formed therein which is displaceably housed by a damper in the casing to which a vibration plate is attached. A coil is also attached to the casing and placed in the magnetic gap. The casing gives an output of a mechanical vibration synchronized with a low band audio signal. The converter may be built into a furniture piece such as a chair. This is not a massage device so that the transducer does not generate vibrations. Rather, it is part of an audio system where the transducers generate low frequency audio band.
The '379 Komatsu Patent discloses a method and system for discriminating human voice signal. It has a low-pass filter to produce audio signals having frequencies in the range of 0-150 Hz.
The '208 Yamada Patent is a divisional of the '067 Yamada Patent. Again, it is not a massage device but rather, an audio device. As in the '067 Yamada Patent, the vibration transducers are mounted on a flat damper held within the converter casing and the casing is in turn imbedded in the vibration plate. The vibration is in response to a low frequency audio-band.
The '710 Komatsu Patent discloses a body-felt sound unit and vibration transmitting method. The unit has a vibration transmitting member imbedded in a human body support member such as a chair or a bed, etc. and also has an electromechanical transducer attached to the vibration transmitting member. The transducer generates a vibration which is transmitted to the vibration transmitting member through a vibration receiving plate where the vibration receiving plate and the transducer are both arranged to be substantially perpendicular to the vibration transmitting member. While multiple transducers are used, they are connected to a same frequency source and generate the same vibrations.
The Stuart Patent discloses a voice coil actuator. It is unrelated to a massage device.
The '260 Komatsu Patent discloses a sensible body vibration having a vibration unit mounted in a human body support such as a bed or a chair and adapted to generate mechanical vibrations upon receipt of a low frequency signal. The '260 Komatsu Patent discloses an arrangement where a multiplicity of transducers are placed on the two opposite sides of a bed and the vibration transducers on the opposite sides of the bed may be connected with opposite polarities to impart a stronger vibration. However, the transducers on the opposite sides of a bed are not mounted on a same vibrating plate but rather, on two opposite vibrating plates.
The Cutler Patent discloses an audio responsive massage system. The system includes a pad for contacting a user and a plurality of vibrational transducers for vibrating the pad at variable intensity and associated vibration frequencies in response to a power signal. The feature of the Cutler Patent system is that the amplitude of the vibrations are controlled in response to the amplitude of the audio signal while the vibrators are operated at frequencies that are effective for massaging the user without regard to the audio frequency. While multiple pairs of transducers are mounted to the pad, there is no provision in the Cutler Patent to provide the two transducers in each respective pairs to vibrate distinctively to provide a vibration.
From the above patents, it appears that while various audio systems and massage devices are disclosed by the cited prior art patents, none of them have disclosed an air and sonic massaging apparatus for entertainment and providing a massaging effect with greater displacement on the body part of the individual positioned on the apparatus when patterned inflation and deflation of the apparatus occurs.
It is still further desirable to provide a two layer air support apparatus that contains functionality similar to the air spring bedding system, air massager cushioning device, massaging cuff apparatus and air and sonic apparatus with reduced complexity and cost.